HENLEY-ON-THAMES, OXFORDSHIRE, U.K. – After more than a week of training on the Thames River, the Columbia lightweight varsity eight will take to the water in the opening round of the Temple Cup Challenge at the Henley Royal Regatta on Wednesday, July 3.

The Lions have drawn Caius Boat Club, Cambridge & LMBC of England in the first round of the tournament-style racing event. Race time is slated for 9:05 local time (3:05 a.m. EDT). If victorious, Columbia will advance to take on the winner of Newcastle “B” or A.S.R. Nereus from the Netherlands.

“Since this is a combination of crew from Caius Boat Club of Cambridge and Lady Margaret Boat Club, we do not know much about them,” head coach Scott Alwin said. “Since they are a composite crew, they do not have a racing history to research. If we beat them on Wednesday we are likely to race a Dutch crew, A.S.R. Nereus, who was also selected by the Stewards.”

“The guys are confident and motivated, and they are training with the same focus, looseness, and confidence they had in the lead up to the IRAs,” Alwin continued. “They are excited to test their speed against a field of heavyweight crews. They fully intend to race each of the five days and walk away from Henley as Temple Cup Champions.”

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